The UK government is to lift quarantine restrictions on travellers arriving from a number of EU countries from 10 July.

The move applies only to England, as the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are setting out their own approach to foreign travel.

List

The UK Department for Transport said passengers returning to or visiting England from certain destinations, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, would no longer need to self-isolate from that date.

A list of other countries for which restrictions are being lifted was published today (3 July).

Review

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC the list included more than 50 countries. Travellers from the Republic of Ireland were already exempt. The list does not include China, the US, Sweden or Portugal.

The department said the list of exempted countries and territories would be kept under constant review, so that if the health risks increased self-isolation measures can be re-introduced.

Advice

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also changed its advice against “all but essential” international travel to remove certain countries from its list from 4 July. 

Despite calls from the aviation and travel sector for a change of approach, the Irish government and health authorities are still advising against all non-essential international travel, and are asking passengers arriving in the country to self-isolate for 14 days.